Regional systems of entrepreneurship: the nexus of human capital, knowledge and new firm formation

Abstract

This article focuses on entrepreneurship in economic geography and aims at a systematic investigation of regional variation in knowledge-based entrepreneurial activity. We develop and test a three-phase structural model for regional systems of entrepreneurship after introducing a systems approach to entrepreneurship. The model is built upon the absorptive capacity theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship that identifies new knowledge as one source of entrepreneurial opportunities and human capital as the major source of entrepreneurial absorptive capacity. Based on data of US metropolitan areas, we find that entrepreneurial absorptive capacity is a critical driving force for knowledge-based entrepreneurial activity. We also find that high technology and cultural diversity contribute to the vibrancy of regional systems of entrepreneurship.

Regional Growth and SMEs in Brazil: A Spatial Panel Approach

“…This result confirms the theoretical propositions discussed in Section 2 (e.g. ACS, 2013, andQIAN et al, 2012). It thus supports the argument that human capital is conducive to economic growth through the mechanism of enhancing the absorptive capacity of SMEs.…”

“…GRIFFITH et al (2004) argue that R&D has two faces and stimulates growth directly through innovation and indirectly through facilitating the imitation process. In the context of entrepreneurship, QIAN and ACS (2013) and QIAN et al (2012) similarly argue that human capital is the key determinant of entrepreneurial absorptive capacity, which allows entrepreneurs to understand new knowledge, recognize its value and commercialize it in a firm, and which hence allows for the new knowledge to affect economic growth. The key finding of this model is the positive and highly significant effect of human capital on entrepreneurship, providing evidence for the important role of entrepreneurial absorptive capacity in facilitating entrepreneurial activity.…”

Entrepreneurship, innovation and regional growth: a network theory

“…The innovation systems literature, especially the regional variety, highlights the flow of knowledge across organizations as a crucial factor for effective innovation (Freeman 1987;Lundvall 1995;Cooke 2004;Andersson and Karlsson 2007;Cooke et al 2011;Harris 2011). However, although the regional innovation systems literature notes the importance of entrepreneurship as a feature of certain systems, it is not formally incorporated into these models (Qian et al 2013). Indeed, even though the legacy and prevalence of Schumpeterian discourse has led to 'entrepreneurship' and 'innovation' more often than not being uttered in the same breath, especially in regional development circles, the connection between the two is usually implicitly, rather than explicitly, formulated.…”

Regional innovation policies for new path development – beyond neo-liberal and traditional systemic views

“…The past years have seen a vivid debate on more systemic conceptual and policy approaches to entrepreneurship. There is, for instance, scholarly work on entrepreneurial ecosystems (Stam & Spigel, 2016) and national and regional systems of entrepreneurship (Qian, Acs, & Stought, 2013;Acs, Autio, & Szerb, 2014). Although these approaches place the phenomenon of entrepreneurship in a systemic context indicating e.g.…”